Girls Who Code Ends Relationship With Activision Blizzard Following Latest Revelations

Nonprofit organisation Girls Who Code, which specialises in teaching computer science to young women and other marginalised groups, will no longer affiliate itself with Activision Blizzard, after the multibillion-dollar corporation came under fire yet again in a scathing new round of allegations.

In a blog post, Girls Who Code wrote that its priorities of empowering marginalised communities, fighting for diversity, and holding power accountable are now “fundamentally misaligned” with Activision Blizzard. As such, the organisation said it “cannot in good conscience” continue working with the Overwatch maker after all that’s most recently been revealed about the company.

Read More: Everything That Has Happened Since The Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Was Filed

“In choosing our partners, we do so knowing that the tech industry is often unwelcoming to the very communities we are trying to serve,” the organisation wrote in the Medium post. “That’s why we only work with those who are willing to have tough discussions about how systemic sexism, racism, discrimination, and harassment have impacted company practices and work culture. We hold our partners accountable when they fall short and work with them to bring meaningful solutions to the table. However, there is a line, and the allegations against Activision have crossed that line.”

Girls Who Code noted that while it has partnered with Activision Blizzard since 2018 through the Summer Immersion Program, that relationship is dead and gone. In short, Girls Who Code is over the video game giant’s bullshit.

Read More: Blizzard’s First Woman Co-Head Resigned Due To Being ‘Tokenized, Marginalised, And Discriminated Against’ [Update]

It’s not just Girls Who Code that’s tired of Activision Blizzard’s workplace culture. Both PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan and Xbox boss Phil Spencer are “disheartened” and “disturbed” by what’s getting dragged into the open, with Spencer saying his company plans to make “ongoing proactive adjustments” to its relationship with Activision Blizzard. And over 1,200 workers at the company have signed a petition demanding CEO Bobby Kotick’s resignation, even as Activision Blizzard’s board of directors issued a wild statement saying it remains “confident” in Kotick’s leadership skills.

The games industry is rife with toxicity, and the Activision Blizzard situation is currently the brightest light on all of the sector’s woes. If you’ve missed what the company has been hit with recently, we here at Kotaku have a roundup of everything that happened since California’s July 20 lawsuit was filed.